A New Hope
by LovinJackson
Summary: Dean and Castiel deal with the events of Lucifer Rising, assuring themselves and Sam that there is hope and that everything will be okay.


**A New Hope**

**Author: **Tara aka LovinJackson

**Summary: **Dean and Castiel deal with the events of Lucifer Rising, assuring themselves and Sam that there is hope and that everything will be okay.

**Warnings:** Set after 4.22 "Lucifer Rising"

**A/N1:** This short one-shot was written for my best buddy **Angelustatt**. Once again it came out of a conversation I had with her about Castiel. This is what was born from that. I have watched the first 5 minutes of Season 5 and reworked some things in here so as not to spoil people ;) I nearly forgot that not everyone likes spoilers. I hope you enjoy if you read. I certainly enjoyed writing this :) Thanks to mum for the proofing. Any other mistakes are mine.

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**A New Hope**

"Cas, stop being stupid," Dean said, his voice filling the dark room, interrupting the silence.

"I am not being … stupid," Castiel responded, sitting rigid, using perfect posture as always.

Dean gave a frustrated sigh. "If you're going to be stuck with us you may as well be comfortable."

"What makes you think that I am not comfortable?"

Dean sat forward from his slouch against the bed head, taking a good look at the angel and where he had decided to perch for the night. His face crinkled in skepticism. "It doesn't look all that comfortable … or are angels asses impervious to hard wood?"

Castiel finally turned and looked at Dean from across the room, their gazes held for a few moments before Dean's face fell in disgust. "Wait …" he held up a hand, closing his eyes and shaking his head a little before opening them again. "That's … that just came out all wrong." The hunter visibly shuddered.

Castiel looked perplexed. "It is wrong to sit on wood?"

"Cas, stop … seriously."

"Benches are made for sitting on, are they not?"

"Forget I said anything." Dean rolled his eyes and moved back against the headboard once again. He crossed his arms over his chest. How the park bench had come to be in the room? Dean was still confused. It had simply appeared with Castiel when the angel had come back from light recon.

Castiel looked confused, not something that was uncommon when dealing with humans but he remained quiet. He clasped his hands together in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?" Castiel asked as if Dean hadn't heard him the first time.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Dean asked, shifting, now appearing uncomfortable.

The angel looked at his charge knowingly. His expression clearly spoke of how used to human avoidance he was. Dean being his main human reference didn't really make this surprising. "What happened … it was difficult to take in … even for me.'

"Going up against an arch angel and … and well you know. It can't be fun," Dean acknowledged.

Castiel smiled sadly and shook his head. "That is not what I meant, Dean."

"Then what did you mean? 'Cause I gotta admit I'm still not all that cluey on all the heavenly between the lines bullshit."

Castiel sighed and looked down into his hands. The park bench beneath him creaked as his weight shifted. "Dean … your brother rose Lucifer from his prison." He looked up once more as he stated the obvious.

"Your point?" Dean snapped, his voice mutating into defensiveness. The eldest living Winchester surged forward again, his feet planted on the floor, wearing boots that he hadn't been willing to take off in case they needed to move quickly. The hunter was on edge even though he had been trying to appear calm and relaxed.

Dean's posture now mirrored the angel's. He glared at the blue eyes watching him from the park bench on the other side of their motel room. "I … I broke the first seal and it was _your_ buddies that helped to bring on the damn apocalypse!"

"That _is_ my point." Castiel's expression remained the same. It was steadfast and unfaltering yet with a sympathetic kindness resting there as he waited for Dean to _get it._

Dean was silent, staring Castiel down until finally he broke their staring match first, looking away. His mind raced with everything that had happened since Ruby had hit the floor and the big bad had risen from his own fiery prison. So much had happened leading up to that moment, so much had happened to bring them to where they were now, it _was_ a lot to take in. Dean supposed that he should be thankful that he was alive, that Sammy was alive and that Castiel had managed to come back to them.

Dean had never thought that he needed anyone other than Sam and his father. Then his father had died and he realised it was hard but he could cope as long as Sam was there, as long as Sam was okay.

Castiel … somehow the angel had gotten under his skin, Dean was glad for his presence and felt lonelier than he would ever admit at the thought of him not being around. Castiel's absence had hit him harder than he had thought it would and he was glad it had been temporary. He had someone at his back while he fixed things with Sam … while he dealt with Hell on earth and all that was set out for them. All of this didn't mean that the angel wasn't as annoying as he ever was, mostly because he was right.

Gazing at the ugly floral wallpaper, Dean let his eyes trail up, locking on where the wall joined with the roof. The wallpaper had peeled away from the wall and formed a roll, showing off the yellow stained walls beneath. Dean snorted at how some things never changed.

Sighing loudly, the tired hunter ran a hand through his hair. He brought his attention back to Castiel who hadn't moved an inch since he had looked away. Dean wasn't even sure he had blinked. Did Jimmy's eyes ever get dry?

"I get it. You're hoping for some sharing and caring bonding moment in our time of exile. I hate to disappoint but I'm not really the sharing kind of guy."

Castiel raised one eyebrow. "You were offering to share your bed a moment ago."

"You make it sound so dirty." Dean looked disgusted again but managed to shake it off. "That was entirely different … wait …" Dean trailed off when Castiel's smirk started to appear. "Did you just tell a joke?"

"I have been told that I have been spending too much time with you."

"You've come a long way, Luke."

Castiel's smile was lost under his confusion. "My name isn't … Luke."

"It's a Star Wars reference. Luke Skywalker … he was learning to become a Jedi …"

At Castiel's blank look Dean waved him off and once again slid back to his original position against the bed head. "Never mind," he muttered.

"Very well," Castiel replied although it was obvious that he was still trying to work it out.

Dean shook his head and decided to ignore the angel. He had evaded the big talk and now brought his attention back to the small colour TV sitting on the dressing table next to where Castiel was perched on his park bench.

Castiel remained silent where he was, one elbow resting on the bench's wrought iron arm rest. His gaze seemed directed somewhere above Dean's head. It was disconcerting and Dean tried his hardest to concentrate on the channels he was flipping through almost too fast to actually catch anything that was on.

After only a few minutes of mindless channel surfing Dean couldn't stand it anymore and huffed in irritation as he glared at the unaffected angel.

"Cas, for fuck sake! Will you come and sit on the fucking bed?"

Castiel blinked. "Why?"

"Because you're making me uncomfortable."

"How?"

"Because."

"That is not an answer."

"Because you're staring is freaking me out and I don't care what you say, that bench can not be comfortable. Will …" Dean paused to take a breath before he continued, feeling a little strange that he was working so hard to get an angel on his bed ... now if this were Anna and they were alone that would make a hell of a lot more sense … But he needed to avoid those thoughts. Now was not the right time. "Will you just get over here?"

Castiel didn't move straight away and Dean was just about to give up. He would offer and try to make the angel more comfortable but he would stop short at begging. He didn't care _that_ much. But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, Castiel was pushing to his feet, looking thoughtfully at the bench before walking over to the other side of Dean's bed. The scruffy angel sat on the edge, almost completely facing away from him.

"Dude, relax … that was the whole point."

Dean watched, bemused, as the angel sat back against the headboard awkwardly so that eventually they were sitting side by side. "Was that so hard?"

"No. It's softer than the bench."

Dean ignored the miscommunication. "And more comfortable, right?"

"It is."

Dean slapped Castiel's leg with the back of his hand. "See. You need to trust me."

Castiel turned so he was facing Dean, his look solemn. "I do trust you, Dean."

Dean fought the urge to groan. Dangerous emotional territory hadn't been totally avoided like he had previously thought. The look on Castiel's face, the depth in his eyes held Dean for a moment and all jokes were put aside. "Me too."

"So … are you okay?" Castiel repeated his question from before.

Dean bit his lip, looking at the TV, watching the starting credits to _Star Wars: A New Hope_. And Dean grinned. He did have Sam back, Bobby was safe and Cas was still with them. There was still hope. The good guys still had a chance. He wasn't okay, he wasn't even sure he had dealt with any of it yet but they had hope. "I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'm okay," Castiel parroted.

"Good." Dean elbowed him. "We finished? Because I think it's time you were introduced to the world of Star Wars."

"What _is_ Star Wars?"

"This …" Dean pointed at the screen. "It's a movie …" he shrugged. "It's sort of like required reading. It's …"

The door to the motel room opened and Sam's tall, imposing figure walked in, pausing when he saw the pair on the bed. "Did … I … umm ... did I interrupt something? 'Cause y'know I can come back," Sam said, jutting his thumb towards the still open door.

"Get you mind out of the gutter, Sam. I'm teaching."

Sam closed the door, cocking his head to the side, his brown hair falling over his eyes, looking like an overgrown puppy - an amused puppy. "Teaching?" He tossed a brown paper bag at his brother that Dean caught easily. "Teaching him what?"

"Star Wars," Castiel intoned seriously. "It's required reading."

"Right," Sam said, looking suddenly uncomfortable as he took his own hot dinner and sat down on his own bed that was laid out with papers, computer and his duffle bag. A small spot was left over at the head of the bed for him to sit down.

Dean watched as Sam seemed to draw back and new immediately what the problem was. It wasn't unusual for them to compare their own screwed up lives to the long epic tale that was playing out on the TV. "Why so glum, Sam? There's apparently a marathon on tonight and you know everything turns out alright in the end of Return of the Jedi."

Sam huffed, shifted, rolling his shoulders before he looked at his brother who sat with his angel at his side … a place where Sam had been once upon a time. "_Will_ everything be alright?"

Dean and Castiel shared a look before Dean met his brother's earnest gaze. "Yeah, Sammy, I think it will."

Dean held his brothers gaze until the kid looked down at the burger he'd taken from the bag, the wrapping apparently very interesting.

Looking back at the TV he settled back for what passed as normal in their lives since all hell had broken loose. He watched the movie, instructed Castiel on who the characters were and answered the angel's questions quietly.

"Dean?"

"Yeah?" Dean asked, waiting to answer yet another question, this time from his previously silent brother.

"Why is there a park bench in our room?"

Dean shared another look with Castiel and as the angel gave a hint of a grin, Dean chuckled.

**The End**

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**A/N2:** Hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to let me know ;) Reviews are more than welcome and appreciated :) Next Brotherhood one is still coming. I'm so close to the end that I'm getting antsy lol Stay tuned hehe


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